


Strings of Fate

by Prince_Leo



Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Barry Allen Needs a Hug, Blood Magic, Corruption, Dark Magic, Eventual Relationships, Gods, M/M, Magic, Protective Oliver, celestials, undead characters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-29
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2019-12-26 06:54:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 12,344
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18278087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Prince_Leo/pseuds/Prince_Leo
Summary: (AU)Barry's quest for vengeance is over. First he knew him as the man in yellow, then Reverse Flash, Harrison Wells, and lastly as Eobard Thawne. This one person had essentially crafted Barry's life up until he ceased to exist. Thawne murdered his mother, which resulted in his father being imprisoned wrongfully and Barry being adopted by the Wests. Even after this, Thawne continued to influence Barry's life. Now that he's gone... What is Barry's purpose in life?He needed a fresh start... Well, everyone did, but he needed it the most.He just didn't think that would lead him to Starling City. He also didn't expect the various outcomes and consequences of this decision.(Takes place after Flash season 1 and Arrow season 3, but the timeline is completely different after. No Damian Darhk, Zoom, etc...)UPDATE: Was on hiatus due to trips and such, but an update should be arriving sometime this week!





	1. New Beginnings

**Author's Note:**

> I haven't written in a long time. I kinda didn't feel like it was for me, y'know? I decided to just focus on my life and art for the past year.
> 
> I heard Arrow was going into it's final season, and since well... that was the show that kinda got me into so much, one of those things being writing and this site, I decided to read some old stuff here and decided to give it another go. I've got a lot of ideas for this, I just hope I do it well!
> 
> Not exactly sure what characters will show up and when, but I've got kind of a road map made up. Well... sorta, it's not written out, but it's in my head somewhere. :p
> 
> Since this is an AU, a lot is different and will be different. Some events from Flash season 1 and Arrow seasons 1-3 may be pretty different, but unless stated otherwise, assume events not mentioned happened the exact same.

It was over. It was finally over.

Barry's quest for vengeance began as a quest to free his father. He knew his father never would've even attempted to harm his mother. He was innocent, Barry didn't believe this, he knew it. Then fast forward over a decade and here he is. The hero of Central City, The Flash. He learned that the 'Man in Yellow' as he dubbed him, was real, he was still around. Then Barry's quest took a turn. He needed to bring him to justice. He had a team now. Joe, Cisco, Caitlin, and even Wells were there for him.

That is, until Wells outed himself as the 'Man in Yellow'. The Reverse Flash. Eobard Thawne. It took absolutely everything to take him down. He even called in Oliver from Starling to help. He'd nearly had Eobard where he wanted him, he was going to be able to not only save his father, but he was going to save his mother too. Instead of stopping Eobard from killing her, he hid. Why did he not take the chance? Why did he hide away as he listened and watched his mother die a second time...? He couldn't understand for days after everything happened. But he understood now. The death of his mother was definitely the most impactful event to ever happen in his life. It shaped him into the man and the hero he is today. Without her death... would he even be the Flash? Would he even have the same relationship he currently has with Iris? Joe? Would he ever become friends with Cisco? Caitlin? Oliver? Felicity?

He didn't save her out of fear or cowardice. He didn't save her because she wouldn't want him to. She wouldn't have her son forfeit so much just to have them all together again. She was selfless like that, which is a characteristic he picked up on. He could've been selfish and saved her to have the live he'd always dreamed of, but sometimes when you love someone with all your heart, you have to let them go... right?

He began to understand when he saw Iris clutching Eddie's bloodied and lifeless body in her arms. He began to understand as she began to shake and cry the hardest she ever had in her life. Losing a loved one is the most painful feeling a person can experience in their life.

He began to understand when Caitlin received new that her husband who she just got back from the dead was dead yet again. She had to let him go not once, but twice. Despite this, she still pushed through each day and tried to help others as much as possible. Whether it be to help Barry and Cisco take down another metahuman, or remind Barry to eat enough to stay energized. She didn't let Ronnie's death destroy her.

When he fully understood? When he recalled that Oliver had not only lost his father, but also his mother and his best friend. Despite them being gone, Oliver continued his life. As much as he wished they were still alive, Oliver continued on. He had Thea, Diggle, Felicity, and Laurel to care for now. He wasn't alone, and that's when Barry realized it.

He's not alone. He has so many people that care about him. His mother may be gone, and that's someone that is entirely irreplaceable, but she wasn't his sole reason to continue on.

Now that it was all over, what was he going to do?

He continued working at CCPD, but he felt something was still missing. He was sitting on the couch at Joe's watching some show he really wasn't paying attention to, when it hit him.

After around months of being the Flash, stopping meta humans, dealing with Thawne, working with Cisco, Caitling, Joe, and even Team Arrow, there was no action. Hell, even crime was almost non-existent. No criminal in their right mind would attempt anything in the city that the Flash operated in. That meant work as the Flash and as a detective at the CCPD was agonizingly slow.

About a week after this realization, he'd decided to move to Starling City. The place is just crawling with bad guys and crime, it's perfect. He'd get a job at the SCPD, there'd be no slow days there, he'd be sure of that. As for the Flash? He could ask Oliver if he could help out with their operations in the 'Arrow Cave' as Felicity dubbed it. He's still not sure what to think of him, he was sure that the two of them were friends, but Oliver was so secretive, yet blunt at the same time. He was an enigma. At the very least Felicity and Laurel would be ecstatic to have him there. Especially after, well... Roy and Sara's deaths. According to Felicity, Team Arrow was completely torn up about it, she said Oliver was going out on his own far more often, communicated less, and was more distant. Thea had been taking it the worst. Both of them died because she trusted Merlyn, and he abused that trust to try and manipulate Oliver to take Ra's Al Ghul down. Felicity had said that's all she knew about Thea, the last she'd heard from her was shortly after Roy's death.

Letting Cisco and Caitlin know was easy, they'd understood. They only had one thing to ask of Barry, that whenever they needed help, he'd be there. He agreed. Telling Joe and Iris? Difficult. There was a lot of tears, eventually they come to understand Barry's reasons. Iris was probably the most hurt by Barry's decision, and he could see why. She just lost Eddie, and now her best friend was leaving her too. He didn't ask for forgiveness, just acceptance, and Iris eventually came around. She couldn't be selfish and realized it was Barry's choice after all, and he should be allowed to do what he feels he needs to.

He'd applied and been accepted for a job as a detective at the Starling City Police Department. He... really didn't have a place to live, so he'd called Felicity and let her know everything. She offered to let him stay at her apartment until he could find a place.

For the first time in a while, Barry felt like he was doing the right thing.

\---

A dark figure crept around a corner in the dark of night. He stopped in front of a tombstone.

"Roy Harper. Such a shame, you had so much potential."

He paused and then let out an eerie chuckle as he leaned down and held out a hand.

"I like that. You see, I like it better when potential is missing. Completely gone. It makes my job easier. Less resistance when they're dead."

An ethereal glow began to pool up in his hand and crawl to his fingertips.

"Because when there's still pieces there, it's harder to fill in the rest of the picture with what you want. Less room."

Tiny golden strands began to fall from his fingertips ever so slowly until they hit the ground.

"The more space there is, the more influence I have. Therefore when the easel bears an empty canvas, I have complete freedom. I have all the control."

He closed his eyes and began to mutter words in a lost and ancient language. The golden strands darkened to a pitch black before bright glowing red. Suddenly all of the light had fell from his fingertips to the ground below him. The man stood up and took a couple steps backwards as the light then took a form.

"Now Roy, tell me, where lies Sara Lance?"

The light dissipated and there stood what appeared to be Roy. Then his eyes opened.

All that was there was red and black as he smirked at the man in front of him.


	2. Plans to Come

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry moves into Felicity's apartment and meets with Team Arrow for the first time after arriving.
> 
> Meanwhile, the darkness claims another slave and prepares to further it's plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I plan to have the whole conflict between good + bad last a while here, but the first encounter with them will be soon
> 
> also romance might come fast or slow idk what do ya'll want?

Barry sped to Starling City a couple days after he’d gotten the job as a detective at SCPD. All he had to bring with him was clothes and some personal belongings. Felicity had given him a key to her apartment after they’d become really close. He walked into her apartment and set his things in the spare bedroom. He clearly managed to get it done fast, super speed does have perks outside of taking down bad guys. After he finished he pulled out his phone to see a text from Felicity.

_ F: Hey you make it here okay? _

Barry texted back with a simple reply.

_ B: Yep, I’m all unpacked too. _

After sending the text Felicity began to reply almost instantly.

_ F: Wanna meet me for coffee then? We can discuss the possibility of you joining Team Arrow! _

He chuckled to himself as he read her reply. Of course she’d be ecstatic to have him on the team, but it wasn’t up to her. Oliver is their leader, he makes the shots… Literally and figuratively.

She sent him the address and he sped over to an alleyway nearby so he didn’t draw any attention. He looked around him to make sure nobody saw him, and on one of the building tops he could’ve swore he saw a figure move out of eyesight just as quick as he saw them. He shook his head, it was probably his imagination. He made his way to the coffee shop posthaste regardless.

When he got in there, he saw Felicity in the far back corner with two coffees, she noticed him and waved him over. He walked on over and sat down across from her. Before he could even say hi she’d already started talking.

“Okay, so I know Oliver isn’t really big on letting people in on the team, but I’m-”

“Felicity hang on a second,” Barry cut her off as soon as he could, “I’d love to join Team Arrow, don’t get me wrong, but it’s up to Oliver. I don’t think it’s right to just scheme behind his back.”

She rolled her eyes at him, “Barry, please, it’s you. It’s not like I’m pulling some random weirdo off the street and saying ‘Hey did you know that Oliver Queen is the Arrow? No? Well here’s our hideout and everything!’ You’ve worked with us before Barry, you’re a close friend of mine, and a friend to everyone on Team Arrow.”

Barry sighed heavily. “I get that Felicity, but I don’t want to just force myself in. I’ll ask Oliver myself, okay?” She nodded in defeat. “By the way, does Oliver even know I’m here now? Or Diggle and Laurel for that matter? Have you even told them?”

Felicity froze for a moment and mumbled a bit. “What was that?” Barry lifted an eyebrow as he asked this.

“I said I completely spaced that.” Barry just gawked at her.

“You’ve known for over a week Felicity! How did you just completely space it?” he couldn’t help but chuckle a little at this. Felicity was a lot of things, but when it came to matters like this, she wasn’t very good at remembering them… Or at least, she remembered at the wrong time.

“I’m sorry! I’ll let them know tonight… Well, I guess maybe you can, if you want to come to the Arrow Cave with me?” she had a hopeful look in her eye that almost screamed ‘Please come with me, it’s lonely there.

Barry smiled at his friend “Of course, as long as I’m welcome there.” Felicity just scoffed “Of course you are!”

They sat and discussed many things for another hour and a half. Whether it be how Iris and Caitlin were, or how Team Arrow was adjusting to everything that had happened to them. Felicity checked her phone and realized she was running late to her day job and gave a quick goodbye to Barry and left the cafe in a hurry. Barry finished his coffee and sped back to the apartment. He didn’t start at SCPD for another few days, so he figured he’d just do Felicity a favor and tidy up the apartment. After that, he wasn’t sure what he’d do.

Felicity had gotten off work and her and Barry went to the foundry, and found Oliver, Diggle, and Laurel already there. Without looking up Oliver began to speak.

“You’re late Felicity.” he looked up and saw Barry with her. “Oh. Barry, what a surprise, what brings you here?” Diggle and Laurel both looked over from their sparring match at the mention of Barry.

“Well… I kinda… moved here.” Oliver looked shocked for a moment but he smiled softly soon after. “Felicity, can you get things set up for patrol tonight?” Oliver got up and walked over to the pair.

“Oh, yeah, I also got some new intel on our friendly neighborhood vertigo dealer today. We might be able to nail him tonight at around 12:45 if what I have is accurate.” she mumbled off as she began working on the computers.

“So, Starling?” Oliver turned his attention to Barry.

Barry didn’t know what it was about Oliver, but he always made him so nervous. “Uh… Yeah, Starling.”

“Why’d you decide to move here? Why not somewhere like Coast City or Keystone City?” In other words, somewhere where Oliver and his past was not. Barry didn’t know Oliver extremely well, but he knew him enough. Oliver is always afraid that those he keeps closest to him, are the ones that are in the most danger.

“Central City had been safe for a while. No new metas. Crime had gone down a lot. My job as The Flash and as a detective at CCPD was slow-”

“And you don’t do slow.” Oliver interrupted with a smirk.

Barry let out a small laugh at that. “Yeah, I guess I don’t. I just felt like I needed a change. I finally solved my mother’s murder and got the guy behind it. Despite that, my father is still in prison because I never got Thawne to confess. He’s been telling me every single time I visit him that I needed to leave the past behind and move on, live my life the way I want to. Even though Caitlin, Cisco, Iris, and Joe are in Central City still, I just…” he couldn’t exactly figure out what to say next. It just didn’t come to him.

“You just needed to get away from it all?” Oliver asked. Of course Oliver would understand. The guy can read someone so easily. He knows what someone’s intentions are before they even declare them. He’s that good.

“Yeah, that’s it...” Barry still felt guilty about leaving Iris after Eddie’s death. He did promise he’d come to visit as often as he could, but that didn’t do enough to cleanse the guilt.

“Well Barry, you’re welcome on the team if you’d like, and if you ever need anything, just let me know.” Oliver smiled softly towards Barry then turned around as Felicity called him over. Barry just hung around with Felicity after Oliver, Diggle, and Laurel went after the guy they were chasing around lately.

\---

“Sara Lance, the Black Canary. One of the lethal warriors of the League of Assassins. You’re just who I need to find my next candidate.” the man spoke to a tombstone again.

“You’d think these vigilantes would’ve thought up a more secretive resting place for you.” he got up paced around.

“After all, Mr. Queen knows of the Lazarus Pit and it’s unholy powers.” he shrugged and considered his thoughts for a brief moment. “I mean, he should know magic is real, did he not then come to the conclusion that dark arts and necromancy is very real itself?”

He knelt down again. “Once I finish bringing back warriors like you and Mr. Harper here, I will finally be able to bring all these heroes to their deaths.”

He opened the palm of his hand as he did at Roy’s grave and the magic began to do it’s work. “Mr. Harper, I have a task for you.” he paused as he began to begin his spell.

“What does my master require I do?” Roy spoke in a demonic and possessed voice.

“Head to Central City. Retrieve the body of Ronnie Raymond. We’re going to have a very icy problem on our hands if we don’t turn him to the darkness.” he turned his head towards Roy. “Oh, and while you’re there, there’s a gorilla I’d love for you to take out.”

He stood up when the spell was complete and fully turned around facing Roy and a newly resurrected Sara Lance.

“Ms. Lance and I are headed to Nanda Parbat to retrieve the demon.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so yeah, mr. bad dude has an agenda that requires certain heroes and villains to be his puppets
> 
> any guesses as to who this is? he does exist in the DC comics just as an FYI.
> 
> but yeah, updates should come somewhat quickly? not sure.


	3. The Black Hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our villain has a name and a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is solely focused on the big bad, I had to do a lot of research and word play to come up some neat stuff
> 
> hopefully you guys like the official introduction to him :)

Black Hand is what he’s called.

Or at least, what he’s called now. Before he was William Hand.

He used to be human, a rather forgettable one at that. He had a pointless minimum wage job at a grocery store, came home to an empty one room, one bathroom apartment, and had no importance to anyone.

To say the least, he was utterly depressed every waking moment of his life. He had no purpose. No motivation. No will to live.

So he killed himself one night. Simply hung himself from his ceiling fan. It probably would’ve taken weeks for anyone to discover his body, and it would’ve only been because of the smell of rotting flesh.

Except he woke up the next morning. Or at least, that’s what he thought. In reality it had been days. He was dead, and then he wasn’t. He’d become the undead. Death was evasive for him, but that didn’t mean he was immortal. He could still be killed again. How do you kill what is already dead though? You unbind the magic that holds it together.

A user of the dark arts had brought him back from the dead. For what purpose? To be a slave.

He wouldn’t have it. After years of being just that to society and corporations, he wasn’t going to die and come back just to do more of the same.

Instead, he killed her. Took her tomes and her spells. Spent months learning and reading them.

He learned so much in such a short period of time. Decrypted things he never thought he would. Unlocked secrets he never should have.

He found a relic called the Tablet of Gods. Or at least, the myth of it. It was an ancient tablet of obsidian with a long forgotten language inscribed on it. According to the legend, it contained ingredients for a concoction.

Consuming it would grant immortality and godhood.

However, the Tablet was too dangerous. No mortal had actually used it, they feared it so. Since it could not be fully destroyed, it was split into two pieces. A group of warriors were tasked with hiding and protecting one half, while the other half was thrown into the ocean to be lost at sea forever.

Black Hand was not one to give up easily. Not anymore. He spent years looking for it. Luckily mankind is full of fools. He discovered some text in an ancient burial site of the people tasked with disposing of it that hinted at the whereabouts of the first half of the tablet.

He found it in Antarctica.

He studied the text, spent even more years deciphering the language, until he deciphered the entirety of the first half.

It was a recipe to become a Blood God. There were only three ingredients for this half, and they were hidden behind riddles. It read:

‘The thought of one that speaks the mind

The foundation of he who protects me

The language of one that defies Hell’

He’d deciphered the first half, and was gathering what he needed. The brain of a telepath, the bones of the man protecting the tablet, and the tongue of an exorcist.

The easier tasks. Thankfully Harrison Wells had unleashed the first thing he needed, after finding the second half, he’d have the bones, and it’s not like anybody was going to miss Constantine, he’d already dealt with the exorcist. Primarily because that was the easiest part of the riddle to decipher and retrieve.

It was only after Constantine’s death he came across the witch’s spell for resurrection, it was hidden away in the cover of one of her tomes. The spell that brought him back. He tinkered it. Turned it into a curse that made those he resurrected loyal to him. It corrupted them. Opened their eyes to the darkness, forced them to welcome it.

Anyone unwilling to bow to him, would bow regardless. Anyone he found worthy to be put under his curse, he would.

Now he’s on his way to get the second tablet. Nanda Parbat. The home of the League of Assassins.

 

\---

 

“I’m not opposed to disposing of you right here, right now. Even when you’re dead, you’re of little use to me. There’d be no point in wasting my time to bring you back from death, Malcolm. You’re not a worthy ally, you’re a coward who uses deceit to get others to do your bidding. You wouldn’t be the head of the League without Mr. Queen.” Malcolm writhed in pain on the floor from his wounds that Sara had inflicted upon him.

“You have two choices. One, you tell me where the other half of the Tablet is hidden here and I let you live, or two, I have to do more work than necessary to get it.” Hand knelt down to Merlyn. “And you and I both know that you know what I’m talking about.”

“If I don’t tell you, and you don’t bring me back, then you’ll never find it.” Malcolm smirked at Hand.

Hand smirked right back. “No, but Ra’s Al Ghul is buried on this island.” Malcolm’s smirk faded just as fast as it appeared.

“What good will telling you do anyway? We both know you won’t spare me.” Hand stood up.

“You’re right.” with that he put one leg on Malcolm’s back, pinning him down. “After all, I need your bones.” he plainly mentioned just before he crushed his skull with the other foot. He picked up pieces of his skull and turned around.

“Now, we find Ra’s Al Ghul.” he and Sara left the throne room now full of bloodied and brutally dismembered members of the League of Assassins.

Sara led Hand to the burial grounds for predecessors to the Head of the Demon, where Ra’s Al Ghul’s body was taken after Oliver Queen killed him. It didn’t take long to find the freshest burial site. Hand knelt down and began to work his curse onto the fallen leader of the League.

When the curse was complete, he gave his first demand to the newly resurrected Ra’s Al Ghul. “The other half of the Tablet of Gods. Bring it to me.” without delay, Ra’s obeyed.

He retrieved the tablet. Thanks to Hand’s years of deciphering the language, he could make it out almost as clear as day. The final 3 ingredients.

‘A soul corrupted by rebirth

The center of a beat that matches the pace of his feet

Blood of thou who wishes to be more’

He was so close to his goal. Central City was now his next destination. All he needed to do now was solve the riddle and gather what it calls for.

Then he’d be God.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so yeah I don't really like Malcolm tbh
> 
> there's gonna be more deaths and some pretty brutal things in the future btw
> 
> also next chapter is gonna be some Barry/Oliver progression yee -w-


	4. From the Shadows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barry is spoken to by an unknown entity.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so I decided that it would be a BIT lame of me to just have Hand have resurrected people as his allies, so...
> 
> Yeah
> 
> also barry/oliver things like a promised

Team Arrow had finally captured their latest enemy, he was dealing Vertigo to teens, sometimes in fatal doses. It had been a week since then and there’s strangely been nothing that really warranted the Arrow or the Flash’s aid. The rest of the team really didn’t seem to care much, but Barry had been feeling very… wary about it all. This life that they led, it never came with peace. Especially so in Starling City, the place was infamous for the criminal activity. Call him superstitious, but Barry had a big feeling that there was something happening  _ now _ that they needed to prepare for.

It was another night that they were going to bust some baddies, but like Barry suspected, there was nothing of interest. Laurel and Felicity were currently going over some ways they could improve her ‘Canary Cry’ tech. Diggle had called it an early night and went home to Lyla and baby Sara.

Barry’s thoughts were interrupted as Oliver took a seat next to him. There was a brief moment of silence before Oliver spoke up.

“What’s on your mind Barry?” he questioned without looking at Barry, both of them pretending to watch what Felicity and Laurel were up to.

“Hmm? Nothing really, why do you ask?” he lied, a bit too obviously that even Iris would’ve been able to catch it.

“You look a bit… off? Like you’re afraid of something.” he then turned his head to look over at Barry. “What’s up?”

Barry sighed before meeting Oliver’s eyes, there was no point in lying now. “Okay, I might sound crazy, but… I just can’t shake this feeling that there’s something really bad going on, you know?” Oliver simply raised an eyebrow “Like, what we do here? There’s almost never just… nothing. There’s  _ always  _ something, it’s strange that there’s not even a report of an attempted robbery.”

Oliver simply stayed silent and Barry turned away and thought ‘Great, he probably does think I’m nuts.’ Felicity would’ve definitely teased him about being superstitious at the very least.

“I think you’re right.” Barry shot his attention back to Oliver. “What?” he asked, confused at the vigilante’s response.

“I’ve had the same feelings. Ever since I put the hood on, every single night there’s been something going wrong. It’s been a constant, there’s never been even a shred of peace. There’s always a struggle and a fight. I feel like I need to do something, but when there’s no sign of anything? What do I do?” Oliver turned his attention to the Arrow suit on it’s stand.

Their conversation fell off with that. Felicity and Laurel eventually went home, they’d been there for a few hours and with nothing going on, they grew tired pretty quickly. Oliver had began to practice, typical. Barry wondered if the man ever slept. Barry had nothing else to do, wasn’t exactly tired as his mind was running a mile a minute, and he had the day off work the next day. Instead of sitting around doing nothing, he decided to just surf the web. See how things were in Central City, he just needed to find  _ something  _ to do.

_ ‘The center of a beat that matches the pace of his feet’  _ an eerie whisper came to Barry’s attention. He shot up at that, startled and slightly shaken.

_ ‘He doesn’t know yet. I do.’  _ he felt terrified now, the voice sounded… like someone was trying to speak while choking on shards of glass. It was unsettling.

_ ‘A battle is coming. You won’t come out alive.’  _ before he knew it he was on the ground and Oliver was kneeling next to him, Barry couldn’t hear what he was saying to him, whatever was speaking to him, it was… forcing a panic attack?

_ ‘Little does he know, he brought upon his own undoing.’  _ Barry felt like he couldn’t breathe, he could feel himself blacking out.

_ ‘We’ll meet soon, and I’ll claim what’s rightfully mine.’  _ That was the last thing Barry heard before his vision went dark.

 

\---

 

Barry woke up on the metal table in the foundry. The same one that Oliver laid on when he saved his life over a year ago. He had a pulsing headache and his back hurt, probably for laying on a metal table for… however long he was out for.

“Thank God you’re awake, what the hell happened?” he glanced over to see Oliver sitting near the table, clearly concerned.

“This is going to sound bizarre but, I swear I heard something, or someone… whispering to me? It hurt. Hearing it.” Barry sat up and stretched his limbs out, aching from collapsing to the ground and laying on the table.

“I’ve heard stranger. What was it saying?” Oliver’s concern shifted to interest.

“It started with what sounded like a riddle?” Barry looked upwards as he was trying to remember the rest of it.

“Umm, it also mentioned knowing something someone else didn’t…” He clearly remembered the next part, and it made him pale. Was it threatening him?

“It also told me a battle is coming and that... “ He paused before looking straight at Oliver, “I was going to die.”

Oliver sat for a moment, taking it in. “Barry, you know that we won’t let that happen.  _ I won’t let that happen. _ ” the look in Oliver’s eyes as he said this made Barry’s heart skip a beat for some reason he couldn’t explain. The two just stared into each other’s eyes for a while.

Oliver broke the silence and the tension “Do you remember what the ‘riddle’ was? Maybe that can give us some clue?”

“I’ll try to remember, hold on.” Barry thought long and hard for a minute. Something about a beet center and feet? No, that’s ridiculous. Beat? Makes more sense. Beat, center, feet… His eyes widened as he figured it out. “It was ‘The center of a beat with a pace that matches his feet.’ I don’t really know what it means though.”

“It’s referring to you, Barry.” Oliver instantly got it apparently.

“What? How?” Barry was confused, it didn’t make sense to him.

“Well, not you specifically, but I’m guessing your heart. ‘The center of a beat’ well… hearts beat, and the heart is near the center of your chest. ‘With a pace that matches his feet’ that’s clearly referencing speed, Barry.” Barry slowly connected the dots together.

“So why reference my heart specifically? This is strange. Should we let Felicity know? Maybe she could help out… if this is actually something and not me hallucinating or being paranoid that is.” he laughed softly, probably because he’s only realizing how insane this all is.

“Barry, whatever it is, your life has been threatened. If it’s paranoia or whatever, then it means you could be having thoughts of…” Barry cut him off real quick.

“I’m not. I promise.” Oliver nodded at his response.

“Then I guess we were both right. Peace doesn’t exist in our line of work. We need to tell the team, and we need to take care of it.” Oliver pulled out his phone to call Felicity.   
“And… if we don’t?” Barry asked, clearly worried. They didn’t know what they were going up against, if anything at all, and Barry’s life was theoretically at stake.

“We will, Barry.” Oliver glanced at him and then back to his phone.

“You don’t know that, Oliver.” Barry was right, but Oliver wouldn’t believe it. They’d gone up against insurmountable odds before, the both of them, and come out on top. They’d do it again if they had to.

“Barry, trust me, I will not let you die. I’ll do whatever it takes to prevent it.” Barry would never admit it but… protective Oliver was… well,  _ very, very attractive. _

As he was ringing Felicity up he said one more thing to Barry “If you hear it again, let me know as soon as possible. Got it?”

“Got it.”

 

\---

 

“Well, good job Roy. Grodd dead and Raymond’s corpse found? I knew you would be a wonderful ally. Unfortunately for a couple of you, I have no more use of you.” Hand turned to his now 5 revenants.

“Plus, if someone were to discover how to break the curse, the two of you would become… unnecessary obstacles.” His hand began to glow before he began to speak again.

“Zu’u uth revak dur kos dreh pah…” beams of dark shot from his palm and attached to Sara and Ra’s Al Ghul, their bodies losing their gray skin color and the bright red eye color, the beams turned golden as the life drained from them, eventually turning them to dust.

“Such a waste of magic.” A groggy voice piped up.

“Gather the dust, maybe you can make a concoction out of it, Alchemist.” Hand turned to walk towards a table where the tablet was.

“I can work with an array of ingredients, you think simple dust would suffice?” the Alchemist scoffed.

“If you weren’t such a resourceful ally, I’d have your head. Watch your tongue.” Hand snapped at the creature. Alchemist merely grimaced as he turned to his alchemy table and put his four arms to work.

“Has Wraith given you any update yet?” Hand questioned as he studied the tablet in front of him.

“Getting information from one among the shadows? Not as simple as you’d think Hand.” Alchemist began mixing what appeared to be some body parts and organs together. “He’s sent nothing. I have even formally requested an update on your behalf. He’s radio silent.”

Hand’s face twisted into one of anger. “I knew we’d struggle with an ally like him. He’s unpredictable. Unfortunately, he’s my best chance at retrieving one of the ingredients.”

Alchemist hummed in agreement. “The soul of a person resurrected through the Lazarus Pit. Unfortunate that it was desecrated by that wretch of a woman. I would’ve liked some samples of it’s waters…”

“Yes… and Wraith is one of few beings that can see into the souls of others, and retrieve them. Until he returns with any information, we’re stuck figuring out the last two riddles… I spent years deciphering the last tablet. I can’t wait that long again.” he smoothed his hand across the tablet.

_ ‘Thea Queen.’ _

Was all Hand needed to hear.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> who is the Alchemist?
> 
> who is Wraith?
> 
> what is GOING ON?
> 
> anyway, really didn't have plans for Sara or Ra's after what they were intended for, so I just had Hand uhhh... delete them? also bonus points to anyone who knows the fictional language I used for his spells/curses.


	5. The Void Remembers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wraith makes his intentions clear to Barry.
> 
> An unknown ally emerges and plans come together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just wanted to apologize for such a late update
> 
> barry/oliver things are gonna get more intense in a chapter or two, but this story is gonna have NO lewds, I promise. I suck at writing steamy scenes.

The team was in the Arrow Cave working tirelessly to figure out what or who is behind the voice. It’s been extremely tough as Barry is seemingly the only one hearing it, and every time he does, it hurts him physically and mentally. Since that first night, Barry has heard the voice two other times. It vaguely hinted at dark magic and dimensions. Oliver had left to find Constantine, if magic was involved, he’d probably know what’s currently going on. Felicity was searching every corner of the web for legends, myths, and tall tales surrounding this. Diggle and Laurel had been aiding Felicity whenever possible or patrolling the city. Oliver demanded that Barry stay in the Arrow Cave to avoid him being injured or killed, after all the voice said Barry was going to die. They simply couldn’t let that happen. Plus, with Felicity there, if the voice spoke to Barry again, she’d be there to help him through it.

Barry was sitting next to Felicity doing some heavy research on what they may be facing when his phone starting ringing. He pulled it out of his pocket and saw it was Oliver, he answered it without hesitation. Maybe Constantine knew what the voice was or what was coming for him.

“Oliver, what is it?” Felicity turned her head towards Barry immediately after hearing the mention of Oliver’s name and simply gave him a questioning glance.

“Bad news. Constantine is dead.” Oliver replied flatly. Shit. He was their only hope at getting a head start on this whole thing. Barry’s face fell at the news.

“Did he have any acquaintances or friends who could help out? Maybe some notes, books, or… anything? Felicity and I feel like we’re running in circles right now.” Barry hadn’t lost hope yet, they could still get ahead of this before it hits them unexpectedly.

“I’ll keep looking here. In the meantime, you guys just stay safe. Notify me immediately if anything happens or you guys get a lead, okay?”

Barry absentmindedly nodded to himself. “Will do, you stay safe too, Oliver.” and with that he hung up.

There was around an hour of endless web searching when Felicity gasped, catching Barry’s attention. She was staring at his arm in shock and… disbelief? Barry looked down at his arm in response and nearly jumped out of his seat.

His veins… they were glowing purple.

“What the fuck is going on?!” he started rubbing his arm and scratching it, was he hallucinating? No, because Felicity DEFINITELY saw it too… What is it? He froze in place as a familiar voice whispered to him.

_‘Don’t worry. No more pain now, you still won’t remember most of our conversing, but at least you won’t die before I have the chance to return.’_

Felicity immediately went to Barry’s side as she saw his eyes roll back and glow purple. She tried to move him, but he was immovable. She instinctively grabbed her phone to call Oliver.

_‘I imbued you with a tiny portion of power, just so you aren’t harmed when we chat… Well, I speak and you listen. You get the gist at this point, speedster.’_

An image appeared to Barry. They were colors, not just any colors though. They seemed important, they had purpose. They flashed by so quickly, it would be difficult for him to remember.

_‘They call me Wraith, but that’s not my true name, you see, speaking my true name in my native tongue releases me from my prison. They don’t want that, they know my true intentions.’_

The image of color erupted into blood, ash, and death. Entire civilizations rendered to rubble and dust. Everything and everyone… gone.

_‘Luckily for me, I’ve found the perfect person to unleash me. You. You’re probably thinking why you would do such a thing, right? You have no choice. That power I was able to grant you wasn’t by chance or luck on my part.’_

Behind all the blood, behind the bones, behind the death… was a cloaked figure, familiar and unfamiliar faces, but they were... gone. All that was left were twisted souls with cruel intentions. Lost to darkness.

_‘What I am, is something ungodly and unholy. I’m bound to the void. The void only grants me one way out, and that’s through a specific bond. We have that bond. Each time I contact you, I’ve grown stronger. My desires, my lust for vengeance, my hunger for wrath… It’s stronger. I’ve been isolated for eons waiting for my re-emergence. It’s almost time.’_

Barry struggled to regain control over his body, all he could hear was the voice, all he could see was death and destruction.

_‘When you feel like you’ve lost, you’ll say my name. You’ll have no choice. It’ll be the only thing on your mind. You don’t know it now, but you will in due time.’_

Barry was finally regaining control, but before he did, the voice said one last thing.

_‘Your universe and another will burn for imprisoning me.’_

He woke up gasping for air, struggling to make sense of his surroundings. He felt strong hands gripping his shoulders, a soft voice calling out to him, and eventually he snapped out of it.

“Barry, calm down, it’s okay we’re here now.” he looked up and saw Oliver, and as he glanced around noticed Laurel, Diggle, Felicity, and… a woman? He’s never seen her before.

“I saw so much. I heard… so much.” Barry was shaken. It all felt _so real._ Was it real?

“What do you remember? Even the most minor details can be important.” the unknown woman spoke up.

“I’m sorry, but who are you?” he gave a questioning stare to the stranger.

“I am Zatanna. I was an… acquaintance of Constantine’s. Oliver came into contact with me recently. He told me of your situation. I have suspicions of someone who might be behind this, or at least partially behind this, but I need you to tell me what you know.” she sat next to Barry as he sat up, he still seemed hesitant.

“Don’t worry Barry, she’s an ally. You can trust her.” Oliver stated softly. All Barry had to do was look at Oliver’s eyes and that gave him the confidence to speak.

“I don’t usually remember a lot, but I can remember some things? I know that the voice called himself Wraith. Or that somebody else calls him Wraith. That bit is foggy there.” he narrowed his eyes trying to remember more.

“So, he’s like a ghost then? Something paranormal?” Felicity questioned from her desk while still searching the web endlessly.

“No, at least I don’t think so. He said he was imprisoned somewhere and that we have a bond of some sort?” he snapped up at that remembering the purple glow in his arm from earlier. “Felicity, remember the purple glow from earlier?”

Felicity spun her chair around at that. “Yeah, I couldn’t figure out what it was. I tried drawing your blood to test it, but the purple stuff didn’t come out, it was just your blood.”

“Weird, but understandable.” Barry joked before continuing, “He said it was a portion of his power, he was able to grant me some because of that bond. I think it was to prevent me from feeling pain or getting hurt whenever he talked to me?”

Zatanna spoke up right after Barry finished describing it. Her face was extremely pale, she looked sickly. “I know exactly what this being is. Possibly even who he is.” Everyone turned and looked her right in the eyes. She looked… terrified.

“Who is he?” Barry muttered out quietly, but just audibly enough for her to hear.

“These beings have been lost to the common folk for centuries for good reason. He’s a Whisperer of the Void. One among the shadows. These entities are extremely dangerous. They were among the first gods, known as Celestials. they governed the universe we know. They were once righteous and benevolent beings, they served and aided creatures and civilizations all around the universes to grow and prosper… until one of them known as Malkorath grew to despise life, he hated serving beings that were beneath him. Him and a group of other Celestials banded together and turned on the others, they slaughtered them, but these good hearted Celestials had foreseen this conflict and created three tablets that would aid mortal beings in imprisoning Malkorath and his followers within a dimension called the Void. The mortals imbued the power of these tablets within a chosen warrior, and he defeated Malkorath and sealed him and his fellow Celestials away in the Void. This warrior knew that his power and the power of the tablets, if fallen into the wrong hands one day, could breed catastrophe. He split all three of them into two pieces and sealed them away, then took his own life. The Tablet of Blood is the only one I have knowledge of right now. It requires sacrifice for it’s powers to be unleashed. The other two are the Tablet of Light and the Tablet of Dark. A mortal with these powers can still die like any man… but a Celestial…” she paused briefly and looked at the group.

“A Celestial could possibly open portals to dimensions and other universes with all of them, they could raze hell upon life across the multiverse…” everyone was seemingly still processing everything she had just told them.

“Barry.” Oliver spoke up with a glint of realization and terror in his eyes.

“What is it?” everyone snapped their attention to Oliver.

“The riddle you heard when he first contacted you. The one about your heart.”

Barry wasn’t catching on. “What about it?”

“You’re an ingredient to a tablet. This Whisperer thing, he wants the tablets.” Zatanna merely nodded at this realization.

“The Void is a unique… dimension to put it lightly. These Celestials are trapped there, and users of dark magic have learned of ways to communicate with them over the centuries. Fortunately for us, the Celestials can only whisper back. Hence, their titles. There’s been no way to unleash them from the Void, and they can’t choose who they speak to. Unless they find a bond. I’ve heard of people being contacted by the Celestials before through a bond, and the order I belonged to… well… quickly disposed of the person.” at the mention of that Oliver quickly stepped in between Zatanna and Barry.

“ _Nobody_ is ‘disposing’ of Barry. Understand me?” Zatanna softly chuckled while shaking her head.

“Trust me, I don’t want to kill anyone. My order has long since been disbanded, and I never approved of the murders anyway. They were just… delaying the inevitable.” she responded sadly while looking to the ground.

“What do you mean inevitable?”

“The Celestials are extremely powerful beings. The Void no doubt further corrupted and strengthened them. Their calls would only eventually become irresistible for bonded mortals. I suspect by the amount this one has been communicating with you, it’s inevitable.” She glanced over to Oliver who seemed lost in thought, she went to proceed until he interrupted.

“Then we find out how we can destroy this Celestial and we’ll be prepared for when he comes.” he boldly stated and moved over to where Zatanna stood.

“We know someone has been in contact with this Celestial other than Barry, someone using the dark magic you spoke of more than likely. We need to figure out who it is and we’ll take them down, get answers from them.” Zatanna simply shook her head.

“You don’t understand the powers a Whisperer of the Void has, Oliver. They have the very ability to wield the void, steal souls, and corrupt dead souls. This is no easy task. However, I can aid you in finding this dark mage you speak of. I’m certain I know who it is. We’ve crossed paths in the past and he made it very clear he intended to gain the power of the Tablet of Blood. His name is… well, was William Hand. He goes by ‘The Black Hand’ now. He’s dabbled in dark arts beyond my understanding. We _can’t_ let him get the power of the Tablet of Blood.” Zatanna emphasized the last part heavily.

“Maybe we should.” Everyone turned to look at Felicity with shock in their eyes.

“Think about it… if this Whisperer comes here with that power right there for the taking, we’re going up against unwinnable odds. If we let this Black Hand guy get it, we still have a chance, especially if he’s a mortal being.” Zatanna went to speak up but Oliver interrupted her before she got the chance.

“That still requires Barry to die, Felicity. We aren’t going to let that happen. We can’t.” Felicity realized that flaw in her plan shortly after Oliver’s mention of Barry, she merely muttered the word ‘right’ and went back to her research.

“Maybe you can contact him Zatanna? Let him know what it is we’re dealing with. Maybe he can… I don’t know… join forces with us to repel this Whisperer? If he’s as smart as you are, maybe he’ll put aside his evil plan to take him down with us.” Barry asked Zatanna. She thought for a brief moment before replying.

“That actually sounds like a decent idea. However, we’ll need ALL the help we can get. If things don’t go in our favor, we’re pretty short-handed on allies. Oliver, you need to get your sister.” Oliver went to open his mouth in protest but Zatanna silenced him before he got the chance. “I know your feelings about your sister fighting, but she’d be a very strong ally. As for you Barry,” Barry raised an eyebrow as she mentioned his name. “A friend of yours from Central City is a metahuman just like you. She’s probably just discovering her abilities, but regardless she’ll be a very powerful ally.”

“Are you talking about Iris? She’s not a metahuman, I can guarantee that, trust me.” Zatanna laughed and shook her head.

“No, not Iris. Caitlin Snow. Also, your buddy Cisco is very smart. He can help Felicity behind the scenes, like I said…” Barry finished her sentence before she had the chance to.

“We need all the help we can get.” Zatanna smiled fondly and nodded in reply.

“Oliver, you and I will go talk to Thea. I feel she won’t be too… happy to see you, but I can explain everything to her when we get there. Hopefully she’ll be compliant. Barry, Diggle, and Laurel, you guys go get Cisco and Caitlin. With Barry’s condition, he can’t go alone, and if he gets contacted by this Whisperer, he’ll need all the help he can get.” With that, everyone began preparing to leave to their destinations.

Yet, for some reason Barry wished Oliver had gone with him instead.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> just to give you guys an idea of my plans--
> 
> I've been OBSESSED with the idea of a Marvel + DC crossover, so this is going to lead into that. After this story concludes(there will be a huge cliffhanger trust me), the next in the series will be a Marvel-centric one, and then after that concludes, there will be a joint fic with both of them! EXCITEMENT!


	6. You Mean Too Much

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The squad is gathered to face off against Hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is most definitely the rising action point in the story
> 
> I WISH I had spread it out a bit more to have a lengthier fic but I am really bad at pacing myself bc I like the GOOD stuff fast heh
> 
> Goal is for a 10 chapter fic, but we’ll see how things progress from here on out
> 
> enjoy tho!

Barry, Diggle, and Laurel had arrived at Central City. Laurel had taken some time to call Nyssa, who now had a working phone thanks to the oldest Lance girl, and she had agreed to help. She told them that Nanda Parbat had been ransacked and Merlyn and the entirety of the League were dead. She was already in Starling City, and had told them she’d head to the foundry. Barry figured he’d call Cisco to let him know they were headed their way to discuss some things. It took a few rings before Cisco actually answered his phone. Barry swore the guy’s phone was either always muted or in a different room.

“Hey Barry, what’s up dude?!” Cisco enthusiastically opened as he usually does.

“Hey Cisco, long time no see!” It… really had been a long time. He had to quit from the SCPD after working there very briefly. The visions and whispers from Wraith had become too frequent and he was getting them at work and on scenes. Thankfully, Felicity was one-hundred percent fine with him still staying with her. “Anyway… There’s a situation back in Starling. We could use your help, Caitlin’s included.”

There was a moment of silence before Cisco responded. “Must be bad if you need our help, Barry. What’s going on?” Cisco asked with concern clear in his voice.

“It’s… complicated. We’ll explain it when we get back to Starling, but it’s kind of a life or death situation. At least, for me it is.” Every time Barry thought it or spoke of it, he didn’t know what to feel. He should be terrified to die, right? Why does he just feel… neutral on the whole ordeal?

_ ‘You don’t fear death because your destiny is death, no being fears destiny.’ _

He’s grown to become immune to the pain and constant blacking out. Wraith must be getting stronger with each passing minute. He’s speaking more frequently, and Barry has all but become immune to any side effect from it. In fact, he feels stronger now. It’s only been about a day since Zatanna shared her knowledge on the Whisperers, yet he feels Wraith’s power growing stronger much more rapidly.

“Shit. I’ll call Caitlin. Where do you guys want to meet? We’ll be there as soon as possible.” Barry could already hear Cisco shuffling around and gathering things in a hurry.

“Meet us at the train station. There’s one leaving in about an hour. Also, apparently Caitlin is a meta? How come you guys didn’t tell me?” there was a brief pause before Cisco responded.

“We’ve honestly just found out. She can create ice, how badass is that? Honestly, I’d say it’s a  _ cooler _ superpower than you have.” Barry could practically see Cisco’s goofy grin at the silly pun and jab at Barry.

“Nice pun Cisco, I’m sure you’re very proud of that one.” Barry rolled his eyes as he chuckled at the very, very bad pun.

“Thanks, I do my best with puns, y’know. Anyway, I’ll call Caitlin and we’ll be headed over there as soon as possible.”

“Great Cisco, we’ll see you then.” Barry hung up his phone. Hopefully Oliver and Zatanna had already gotten Thea. He could sense Wraith’s emergence growing ever closer.

 

\---

 

Oliver and Zatanna had retrieved Thea, and had arrived at the foundry, Oliver was surprised to see Nyssa there, but after telling him that Laurel had called her for extra help, he put his worries away.

“So what now? I assume Laurel, Diggle, Barry, and his friends are on their way here. What do we do now?” Oliver directed the question to Zatanna who was busy going over a bunch of Felicity and Barry’s research on various legends and myths.

“We wait. No doubt that Hand is already on his way. If Wraith has spoken to him, he must know that Barry is part of the recipe for the Tablet of Blood. If my timeframe is correct, everyone else should arrive within the hour. After that? We probably have a very short amount of time before Hand arrives. We just have to hope he’ll aid us.” Zatanna moved to leave the foundry. “I suggest you call Felicity and get her over here for comms. I’ll head to the train station so I can check in with Barry and see how he’s doing.” with that she left. Nyssa had called out to her before she left asking if she could go with, and so they both left. Oliver sent a quick text to Felicity telling her it was time.

“This must be pretty serious, Ollie. Are you sure you’re ready for this?” Thea sat next to her brother. He had a blank stare pointed to his feet.

“When am I ever ready for anything? This has all happened so fast, I’ve hardly had the time to wrap my head around it all. All I can say is that I’m worried. I’m worried that this time, I could really lose everything. We’re going up against insurmountable odds. Otherworldly beings. I didn’t want to bring you into this, and I wish Barry wasn’t involved. Things were so much simpler and the risks just weren’t there in my eyes when it was just me.” Oliver felt Thea wrap her arms around Oliver and lay her head on his shoulder.

“Sometimes we can overcome those odds when we have loved ones to help us out, and if I know you and everyone on this little team of yours, we’ll make it out okay in the end. Stronger. Closer. You don’t need to worry about us all. Whatever happens, we can beat it together, okay?” Thea looked up at her brother as he looked down at her. He returned the little side hug and kissed the top of her head.

“I hope you’re right Thea.” they stayed there like that for a while before Thea pulled away.

“Also, you’re totally crushing on Barry. It’s so obvious. You should totally ask him out when this is all over.” she smirked at him as he blushed slightly.

“Oh really, and since when did you become an expert on romance? Also, ‘crushing’, Thea? Are you twelve again?” Oliver rolled his eyes. He… might have a thing for Barry. He wasn’t ashamed of it, not at all, he was openly bi since he was in high school. He was lucky he wasn’t discriminated against or bullied, which is likely a result of him being the son of a rich and famous couple in Starling.

Not like it mattered anyway. Barry was definitely straight, after all he was in love with Iris, and it’s not like Oliver stood a chance anyway.

“Trust me Ollie, as your little sister, I can tell when you’re head over heels for someone.” she had a sincere look on her face now instead of that devious smirk. The playful feeling surrounding the two quickly faded into something more serious.

“That’s why you’re so intent on doing anything to prevent him from dying.” her face fell to a frown as she looked down at her feet and kicked at nothing. Oliver knew she would relate the most out of anyone involved. She watched as Ra’s murdered Roy. Stabbed him in the heart right in front of her before the same sword plunged through her stomach.

“I’ve lost too many people I loved, Thea. Mom, Dad, Sara, Tommy, Roy... “ he paused and sighed heavily. “I can’t afford to lose anyone else. I just can’t.” Thea pulled Oliver closer to her and enveloped him in a hug.

“I know Oliver. That’s why we’ll win this, no matter what.” their moment ended as the door opened and everyone flooded into the foundry.

“Hand has got to be close, and Barry’s condition is rapidly increasing. We need to get ready now.” Zatanna spoke to the two Queen siblings as she starting shifting through the various tools and equipment scattered around the foundry.

Nyssa was already suited up, as was Oliver, Thea, Barry, and Caitlin. Cisco and Felicity moved to the computers and made sure everyone had their coms open. Diggle, Laurel, and Zatanna made haste with suiting up and were ready quickly.

Everyone began to leave the foundry preparing for the ensuing battle, but Oliver noticed Barry was lagging behind a bit which was unusual behavior for the speedster.

“Barr, you okay there?” Oliver approached him carefully and put a hand on the younger man’s shoulder.

“I haven’t told anyone else, but he’s not just after the Tablets.” Barry sat down and stared ahead blankly as he spoke. “He means to use them to open up a portal to another universe, they’re just half of his plan. This other universe has gems, and if he were to acquire all of those as well as the tablets… Everything will cease to exist.” Oliver soaked up the new information and was slowly processing it.

“Oliver. It’s too risky keeping me alive. You  _ need  _ to kill me. I die either way, so it’s best it happens before Wraith arrives.” the look Barry gave Oliver was full of fear.

“Barry, this thing is only showing you what it wants you to see. We can overcome this if we fight it together. I don’t care how we do it, but one thing is certain; I will  _ not  _ let you die.” Oliver crouched so that he was at eye level with Barry. “You mean too much to me.”

Oliver could feel his heart racing when he added the last part. He basically admitted he loved Barry, right? It was close enough.

“Oliver…” Barry’s head dropped, but shortly after Oliver tilted his chin up so the speedster was looking at him again. He had tears streaming from his eyes, and on impulse Oliver closed the distance between the two and kissed Barry. They stayed there together for what felt like an eternity before Oliver pulled away.

“We can win this Barry. We have to. Love wins any fight.” Oliver pulled Barry up and lead him out of the foundry. Blood would be shed tonight, and Oliver would make sure it would all be the enemy’s.

_ ‘You won’t win this. You can’t. Love? Since when has emotion won war? Emotion holds you back. If Mr. Queen here hadn’t loved you and had slain you on the spot, my victory would’ve been squandered. Yet here we are…’ _

_ ‘On second thought, emotion does win war.’ _

_ ‘It guarantees victory for the enemy.’ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kiss!
> 
> also this doesn’t have a happy ending if you can’t tell
> 
> At least this one doesn’t, the third and likely final part to this series WILL though
> 
> But that comes AFTER the Marvel one so it’ll be a while heh


	7. Heart and Soul

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fight has come.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this is a DARK chapter just as an FYI.
> 
> also, I'm bad at getting descriptive with battle sequences, sooo... yeah don't be expecting much because it gets cut pretty short tbh.
> 
> When the final battle arrives though, I'm def gonna try to put more effort into that one!!

Everyone was prepared and ready in the now abandoned nightclub above the foundry. Black Hand was nearly there, they had to prepare for a battle in case he chose not to aid them in fighting Wraith. At the same time, they had to prepare for Wraith, they could clearly tell by Barry’s condition that the time was close. Their bond was nearly completed.

“Alright everyone, listen carefully.” Zatanna broke the silence and everyone turned their attention towards the magician. “The Black Hand is a very strong and deadly user of the dark arts. No doubt he’s bringing along allies of his own. I have no knowledge on whether he does or doesn’t, so be prepared for anything. If he doesn’t agree to aid us, then we must take him out, otherwise Wraith will arrive with nearly everything he needs to retrieve the powers of the Tablet of Blood. Defeat is not an option.” everyone had a grim look on their face but remained stoic and brave.

“I need to tell you all something.” Barry spoke up and now the attention turned to the speedster. “Wraith intends on using the tablets to open a rift. He plans on using that rift to travel to a different universe. The universe’s name is Infinitum. It has special and extraordinary gems there that control every core part of existence there.” Barry stepped ahead and turned around to look at everyone. “He wants them. He needs them to bring an end to everything. If we fail here… everything is lost.”

Barry then looked right at Oliver. “So I ask one last time. Kill me. Buy yourselves time so that you may figure out a way to put an end to Wraith, before it’s too late.”

“No.” everyone was shocked to hear this from Nyssa of all people. “My father believed that sacrifices were necessary for success and survival. I don’t share my father’s views. Sacrifice is a steep slope to defeat and destruction. I’ve seen it first hand. Everything my father built at Nanda Parbat with the League of Assassins was built upon sacrificing. It only lead to the loss of his humanity, the loss of his life, and eventually the loss of everything he sacrificed his life to build. If you think sacrificing yourself to win this war is an option, it isn’t. It’ll only lead to what you fear will come to pass if we don’t kill you.” everyone was too stunned to speak.

“She’s right you know.” Laurel was the first to break the silence. “This doesn’t need to end with your death Barry. We can do this, we’ll figure it out.” Barry forced a smile on his face. Everyone was so certain they’d prevail, yet Barry knew one way or another he wouldn’t. He accepted that as fact.

“Barry, you spoke of another universe… Infinitum, right?” Zatanna asked him in a lower voice.

“Yeah… do you know of it? You seem to know more than you’re leading on Zatanna.” Barry muttered almost passive-aggressively.

“I’ve only heard of it. In legends, but they were very vague and brief.” she spoke softly and almost as if she were lost in thought.

“What if… What if we travelled there and retrieved those gems before Wraith could?” Thea asked with a tone of hope in her voice.

“We can’t.” Zatanna quickly replied. “At least, cross-dimensional and cross-universal travel is unheard of. No intelligent species I know of has ever been able to do so. There’s no knowledge of it ever happening before… At least I thought so, but if Infinitum truly does exist, then that must mean it’s been done in the past. I can only guess the mortal Champion from long ago was the one to do so. Perhaps his discovery of Infinitum’s gems was the reason he locked the power of the tablets away…?”

“It’s not important though, what is important is that Hand is coming.” Oliver interrupted the discussion of Infinitum.

“No… Hand is here.” Barry stated blankly as he turned around, everyone followed suit when he said this.

Black Hand was at the entrance of the nightclub with two… creatures near him.

“Zatanna. It’s been so long my dear.” everyone could practically hear the smirk in his voice.

“Hand, we have a big threat on the way, and I suggest you listen before you sick your hounds on us. We need your help.” Hand began to move closer to the group.

“And why would I help you?”

“The Whisperer of the Void you’ve been talking to, Wraith… He’s bonded with someone and he’s about to break free from his shackles. He is seeking the Tablet of Blood, just like you. You and I both know a Whisperer has far more power than you do. We need your help to stop him before he can acquire it.” Zatanna pleaded, hoping Hand would agree to help defeat Wraith.

“Wraith can try all he must, but I’m merely steps from acquiring all I need, and how do I know you aren’t trying to trick me so you can prevent me from my achieving my goal? You may be smart Zatanna, but you’ve never been good with diplomacy.” Hand stopped in the middle of the club.

“So I take it you won’t assist us.” Zatanna moved to a battle stance, as did everyone else.

“Of course not.” He chuckled as he raised an arm.

“Well this shouldn’t be a tough battle, it’s just him and two freaks.” Diggle said to Oliver. Hand’s arm began to glow.

“I knew there’d be blood to shed, and I came well prepared Mr. Diggle.” he closed his palm and a burst of light erupted from it, eventually turning dark. When everyone opened their eyes they were met with some very familiar faces. Roy, Grodd, Ronnie, and Constantine all stood there next to Hand and his two mysterious allies. “You’re protecting an ingredient, and I need it.” Hand and his allies rushed towards the group.

“I’ve got Hand, you guys focus on the others.” Zatanna said as she engaged Hand head on.

Laurel and Nyssa headed straight for one of the creatures that were with Hand. It had long claws, blank white eyes, sharp fangs, thin armor covering it’s body, a very pale pink skin tone, large ears, bat-like wings, a long tail with a spike at the end of it, and bat-like wings.

“What the fuck is this thing?” Laurel asked rhetorically. “Your guess is as good as mine Laurel.” Nyssa responded anyway. The two managed to duck and evade a swipe from the creature’s tail and the pair moved back away from the creature.

“I am Cabraa, a creation of The Black Hand’s. I carry out his will without question.” the creature hissed at the pair as it moved forward. “His will is for you and your friends to die, so I will not fail.” Cabraa continued to launch attack after attack at the two women and they fought back, holding their own and even gaining an upper hand until Grodd jumped in and assisted Cabraa. The two were struggling to keep up then Diggle came in and levelled the playing field.

Oliver took on Constantine while Thea had her eyes set on Roy and Caitlin engaged Ronnie. They were all pretty evenly matched and each struggled in their own conflict.

Barry moved to the creature that had… six arms? That was weird. It’s skin was a bluish color, it had bright red-orange eyes with a bag containing vials of liquid on it’s back and minimal armor. The absence of protection was made up for straps of even more vials all over it’s torso and bracers with spikes on it’s arms. The creature appeared somewhat hesitant to fight.

“Are you an alien or something? What exactly are you?” Barry’s question made the creature chuckle.

“I guess you could say I am an ‘alien’, I’m not of this world. I am a Naknadan. You may call me Alchemist.” Alchemist strangely introduced himself politely, despite being Barry’s foe.

“Why do you aid Hand?” Barry asked Alchemist, noticing it didn’t seem so eager to get physical. Perhaps he was having second thoughts on serving Hand? Maybe Barry could turn him into an ally?

“I enlist my services to those I deem worth them. I’ve travelled far and wide and served many masters. Hand has resources and power. He promises my efforts will be rewarded.” the two merely walked in a circle inspecting the other.

“You’ve yet to attack, you seem hesitant.” Barry narrowed his eyes at the other.

“Combat is not my forte. I’m an Alchemist, not a warrior or soldier…” Barry could tell there was more to this being than what meets the eye.

“You don’t need to fight for him. He’s power hungry. If it meant throwing you under the bus to get what he wanted, he’d do it. Help my friends. Wraith is going to emerge soon and they’ll need all the help they can get.”

“There’s nothing worth having there. No reward. What’s the point?” Alchemist pulled a vial from his satchel.

“Existence itself is at risk. Rewards won’t matter when there’s nothing left to cherish. If all you value are material things, then why even fight? There must be something inside you that knows you can do good. Something that knows you care, or else you’d have disposed of me already. You don’t need to serve him. You can do better. You can make a real difference, a good one. I know I'm not going to survive for much longer, but they could use all the help they can get to stop Wraith. So... please.” Alchemist put the vial back and turned to see everyone fighting. Grodd and Cabraa had regained their advantage over Nyssa, Laurel, and Diggle. Thea was struggling against Roy. Caitlin’s powers were no match for Ronnie’s fire and she was having a hard time trying to even fight back. Oliver was actually losing his fight against Constantine as Hand had quickly defeated and knocked Zatanna unconscious and moved to the vigilante and aided the exorcist in the fight.

“Perhaps… I’ve been fighting the wrong battle after all.” Alchemist whispered softly.

Barry turned his head to see the same scene Alchemist was watching unfold. His heart wrenched seeing Oliver beaten, bruised, and bloodied. They were losing.

Oliver thought this was the end, but at least he’d die protecting those he loved, right? Then the attacks just… stopped. He looked up and saw Constantine and Hand were knocked away from him. Constantine was unconscious and Hand was getting back up.

“NO!” Hand screeched and everyone stopped what they were doing. Oliver turned and saw Barry next to him.

“Barry?”

Zatanna had regained consciousness and was waiting for the perfect time to strike and after seeing a stunned Hand, she quickly worked up a spell and launched it at Hand. He screamed in agony as the flesh fell from his body and turned to dust all that was left of him was bone. 

Grodd, Ronnie, and Roy froze. The energy from them disappeared and their eyes went dark. It was almost like they became statues.

“Did… did we just win?” Thea said as her and everyone else moved over to Oliver and Barry. Alchemist and Cabraa glanced at each other briefly before Cabraa leapt away and escaped the building in hurry.

“I… think so?” Oliver moved to sit up, he was in a lot of pain.

“I’m sorry…” Oliver looked to Barry when he said this. The younger man stepped away from Oliver.

“What do you me-” before he could finish what he was saying Barry had sped away and he heard a squelching sound and a pained gasp. Everyone turned to the sound and saw Barry with bright purple eyes standing in front of Thea with his hand through her chest. He pulled his hand out of her chest and she collapsed to the floor. Pale skin and blood pooling on the floor.

Everyone stared in shock and realization. “N-no... “ is all Oliver could say as tears welled up in his eyes.

“Barry’s not the pilot anymore, but no worries, it’s not for long.” Wraith had control over him. “You were going to die. Hand was going to kill you. Yet Barry loves you so much that seeing you on death’s doorstep put him into a vulnerable state where I was able to take control long enough to release me.” a hand was placed on Thea’s head as a green energy was pulled from her lifeless body. “You’ve called me Wraith for so long, I feel like I should properly introduce myself. I’m Malkorath the Vanquisher.” he stood up after absorbing the energy.

“I’d say I’m sorry, but I’m not. This is all necessary. Now if you’ll excuse me...” Oliver was feeling so much right now he didn’t know what to think. He just wanted to wake up and have this all be a bad dream.

The purple glow disappeared from Barry. “What…” he saw the blood covering his arm and Thea’s body on the ground. “Oh… Oh my God, Oliver I-” his entire body began to glow purple and eventually he fell backwards, while the purple glow remained where he stood. Eventually it took shape. The head was made of what looked like metal. There were no eyes, just what seemed like a hole with purple energy and sharp ‘metal’ teeth. On top of the head was a crown that looked like it was made of blades. The rest of the body looked like metal armor made of sharp scraps with cracks emitting purple energy. A dark black halo rested above the crown, and a mystic and majestic pitch black cloak with what looked like stars all over it was draped over the being. 

“It feels sooo… good to be back.” his voice was dark, demonic, and low. “Don’t worry your sister’s soul will be put to good use.” Oliver could feel tears streaming down his face as he stared at the body of his sister. It took him some time to register Barry standing up and he looked behind Malkorath.

This caught Malkorath’s attention as without looking he extended one arm out and grabbed Barry by the neck and moved the speedster in front of him.

“I would thank you Barry, but you have something I need.” Barry’s eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen. He only hoped Oliver would know his last thoughts were of him. Malkorath then made no haste as he clawed open Barry’s chest furiously. Barry felt extreme pain and all he heard was screams and slashing. All he saw was blood pouring from his chest until eventually his vision faded to black.

Malkorath claimed his prize. The heart of a speedster. He then tossed Barry’s body next to Thea’s.

“If you think you’ve lost everything just now, just you wait.” his purple glow emitted brightly behind him as he backed away and disappeared.

Oliver didn’t know how or when it happened but he had was sobbing over the bodies of the two people he loved most.

Malkorath would pay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cabraa is going to reappear don't worry, I didn't just toss him in there for no reason. So if you liked the very small appearance he had, you'll be happy to know he does come back.
> 
> Infinitum is my not so clever name for the MCU essentially, and the reason the stones there are called Infinity Stones. You'll learn more about it soon. ;)
> 
> I had always intended Alchemist to turn to the good side, I probably should've done some more intro to the character, but he'll get a LOT of focus later on so don't worry!
> 
> But yeah, Barry and Thea are now dead, and we're getting close to ending the fic. The next few chapters will basically be them making plans to defeat Malkorath, then if you want to get a good grasp on things to come, I'm going to be starting a second part as a series which will be introducing the Marvel side of things, and then the third will be the final part bringing it all together. :D
> 
> Gonna be honest, Wraith/Malkorath was initially just gonna be a pawn of Hand's and Black Hand would be the big bad, but the abilities and backstory I gave for Wraith/Malkorath was so much more interesting and felt more threatening than Black Hand, so I shifted it. I hope you guys don't mind that!
> 
> Also, eventually I may end up going back through and expanding the chapters to be more descriptive if you guys would like!

**Author's Note:**

> Any guesses on who this mystery character is?
> 
> In this AU, when Ra's comes in to stab Thea, she's with Roy, and he tries to defend her but ends up getting killed by Ra's.
> 
> Sara and Ronnie's deaths remain unchanged. Eddie's too.


End file.
